The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-10-27
USEFUL TEACHINGS.

~ oo-A ~ -&A~AA4AN1Ss
~ - (CO
At no time within our recollection
have the leading neutrality-suspicious.,
agricultural, scientific and miscella-
neous-given so much space and so
strong expression concerning the i'm
portance of teaching the hand as we'll
a. the head, or the one through the
other.
One of the Leading St Louis papers
believes that 4
"The next development in educa.
tional lines will be in the field of direct
ing youths to the practical study Of
mechanical pursuits" \
A prevalent fallacy, cherished by
fond parents who make sacrifices to
send their children to classical colleges,
and by pupils themselves, is referred
to by The Popular Science Monthly, as
follows
1.-The common people are elegantly
assured that they will be supremacy
blessed in some mysterious and inspect
fed manner by the presence of educa-
ted. e., college-bred-men among
them, while at the anne time it ap-
pears that the educated man will have
a very nice and agreeable job in taking
care of the public"
The same imagining objects to waste
of school time with books, to the ex-
clusion of study of things" as a sur
vival Of old error, and adds:
"The real aim Of school education
should be to create a desire to con-
tinue in after life the pursuit of the
knowledge and the skill acquired in
school. In other words the school
should be made, as far as possible, a
preparation for the whole work Of life,
and should naturally lead up to it. The
endeavor of all educators should be to
establish such a relation between
school instruction and the occupations
of life as to prevent any break of con-
tinuity in passing from one to the
other. The methods by which we
gain information and experience in
the busy world should be identical with
those adopted in schools
One of the most experienced and
successful educators of the country,
in urging the "absolute necessity" of
industrial training in the schools makes
illustrative use of the country chill
dren's we'll known superior equipment
for " hardness" a most valuable facil-
ity that must stand to the credit Of
rural life.
"Experience proves-and instances
could be cited from every place where
industrial training has been underta-
ken-that boys who do physical work
a part of the time do better brain work
the remainder of the day. What are
schools for? They are meant to edu-
cate youths for citizenship, yet o
we neglect entirely to drill the hands.
Hands and head belong to the same
boy, and he must get his living by
their use. The lads who used to fire.
quent our old academies in Winter
and work on the farm in Summer
made capital men, We have got to
command something like the same con
ditions now, if we desire to produce
like results and the movement is I'M
der way" Mr.. J. w. War; brings to
the discussion of the subject the pic
turesque individuality characteristic of
his Western Plowman." Shall the
boys be crammed or developed; educa-
ted for utility, ornaments, or useless
ness; their minds strengthened by ju-
dicious training, or numbered with
knowledge that can never be utilized?
These are the questions that must be
answered. The lavish expenditure for
public education is not producing a
proper return. When the boy leaves
school he is in many instances, no bet
ter fitted for bread winning than the
boy who has not been in school at all.
He is unable to use his hands under
the direction of his brain in a way that
will be profitable. Our educational
system must undergo a radical change,
the useful must be substituted for the
ornamental, the real for the unreal;
and above all, our boys must be taught
how to use their hands as well as their
heads, and that manual labor is as
honorable q G anv other o~ccunation